Whisper of Hope
by LadyLefaye
Summary: An encounter with Logan finally brings Rogue out of her shell. Set between the first and second movies. WolverineRogue pairing.


**A/N: **I wrote this a while ago, and I've finally decided to post it on fanfiction net. This fic is set between the first and second movie and contains some sexual situations between Wolverine and Rogue. If the idea of Logan viewing her sexually while she is still pretty young bothers you, you may not want to read this fic.

* * *

Rogue had been inconsolable when Logan had left…anyone with eyes could see that. She had refused to participate in class and she would not talk to any of her teachers or classmates. The only thing she seemed willing to do was sit outside and stare off into the distance, clutching Logan's dog tags to her chest as if they were a lifeline.

Some of her teachers secretly blessed Logan for leaving the girl a souvenir, fearing that if he had left her with nothing, Rogue would have been completely lost to them. Others cursed him for it, believing that it would be better for Rogue to hit bottom so that she could start to rebuild her life without her obsession with Wolverine to hold her back. Either way, as it stood, Rogue was little more than a ghost roaming the halls of Xavier's School for the Gifted.

Then one day, she did a complete 180. Most people felt that it was her new boyfriend Bobby who had caused the drastic reversal, but Bobby knew better. One day she had been sullen and cold, and the next she had boldly asked him out on a date, an impish smile on her face that seemed to have very little to do with him. He knew better than to ask questions though. He was just going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Rogue found all of their speculation highly amusing. For people who were supposed to be "gifted," they sure could be dim sometimes. The only thing that could stop her from missing Logan was Logan himself. Although, to their credit, there were only a handful of people who knew that Logan had come back for a single night before disappearing again, needing a piece of information that only Professor Xavier could provide. And no one knew that on that night, he had come to see her.

When he had shown up in her room in the middle of the night, Rogue first thought she was dreaming, because it was only in her dreams that he was ever in her bedroom in the middle of the night. But it had been real…so achingly real. She knew just from looking at him that he wouldn't be staying for long, but the fact that he had sought her out was enough to make her squeal with excitement, rushing up to him and throwing her arms around his neck in a fierce embrace. It wasn't until it was too late that she realized her arms were bare.

She had almost gotten used to the flood of foreign feelings that invaded her every time she let her skin touch another's, but this time it wasn't the sensation itself that threw her off balance…it was what she saw. It must have been in the forefront of his mind for her to see it so clearly, but he had been fantasizing about her…an older her, true…but still, her nonetheless.

They backed away from each other in shock, each of them breathing heavily, and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was aware of what she'd seen. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she shushed him, letting her fingers brush over his lips in a ghost of a touch.

"Sit with me a while?" she asked, motioning towards her bed.

He sat down near the head of the bed, his back against the wall, and she curled up against his side, being careful to avoid all skin-to-skin contact. Neither of them said a word, and Rogue was just beginning to slip back into a light sleep when she felt his fingers begin to brush through her hair.

At first, he too was careful to avoid skin-to-skin contact, but as she relaxed into his touch, he allowed his fingers to stray, briefly skimming over the skin of her cheek or the side of her neck or the curve of her collarbone. With each brief touch, she could feel him pushing into her, flooding her mind with images of an older version of herself wrapped around him in a passionate embrace.

Rogue began to breathe heavily, small gasps and pants coming from the back of her throat as the erotic images assaulted her senses. Soon, she was arching her back, her body rising to meet each gentle touch as she strained to see more of Logan's fantasy. Logan was not unaffected by this, his own breath coming in labored pants, but he neither slowed nor increased his pace, his fingers continuing their controlled, methodic exploration of her skin.

Logan knew that he should stop…that they had already crossed into the realm of highly inappropriate, but he was too caught up in his fantasy to end things now. In his mind, he saw her as she would be someday, a beautiful, powerful woman fully in control of her powers. And just as he knew that some day she would blossom into a capable adult, he knew that they would inevitably be drawn together…there was just that sort of connection between them. Her eager acceptance of this vision was what spurred him on…he had to make sure she believed in the woman she was meant to become.

Admittedly, when he had come to her room, he hadn't intended for any of this to happen…he only wanted to assure her that he was alright, and that he would be back someday like he promised. But then she had rushed to throw her arms around him, paying no mind to the scant bits of cloth she felt passed for pajamas, and his mind had gone straight to the gutter, their brief skin-to-skin contact ensuring that she came along for the ride. Even then, he could have stopped what was happening…but he had heard far too many stories about the ghost-like creature she had become, and she seemed so willing to embrace his vision of her future self…he couldn't bring himself to rush out of the room before healing some of the damage he had caused from leaving so abruptly the first time around.

Rogue could feel these eddies of guilt swirling around as a back current underlying Logan's fantasies, and, not for the first time, she wished that she could reverse the way her skin worked so that he could see her flow of thoughts as well…so that he could see that he had no reason to feel guilty for what was happening. But she only had her own, inexpert body language to work with, so the next time his fingers skimmed across the skin of her cheek, she turned her head to place a soft kiss on the palm of his hand.

"I want this," she whispered, hoping against hope that he would not stop now…not when she was so close to going over the edge he had been drawing her towards.

Logan paused, and for a moment, Rogue feared that she had pushed him to far…that he would stop and leave her dangling just short of something wonderful. Then he let out a long sigh.

"I'm gonna go to hell for this," Logan muttered.

Instead of continuing his teasing exploration of her skin, he pulled her up from her prone position on the bed and placed her upright in his lap. Rogue could feel the hardness between his legs pressing against her thigh, and when he leaned forward, she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead, he rested his forehead gently against hers and lightly placed both of his hands on her neck.

The result of this was drastic. Before, his touches had been intermittent, causing a slow, tantalizing build-up. But now the flow of thoughts was constant, and Rogue could see vivid images of the figures in Logan's mind mating frantically. As the couple in the fantasy reached their frenzied peak, Logan experienced his own climax, dragging Rogue along with him as intense pleasure flowed into her in waves.

Rogue was so lost in the feeling of her first proper orgasm (one that did not come from her own inexpert fumblings) that it took her a moment to realize that Logan's pants of pleasure were rapidly turning to strangled gasps of pain as he slumped against her. Quickly, she pulled away from him, and his breathing immediately eased.

"Thanks," he murmured groggily before passing out on her bed.

She arranged him as comfortably as she could before throwing a blanket over him and curling up against his side, being extremely careful to keep her skin away from his. As overwhelmed as she was by everything she had just experienced, it did not take her long to fall into a deep sleep beside him.

Surprisingly, Logan actually awoke her before leaving. It was still dark outside, which meant they couldn't have slept for long, but Logan always had been an extraordinarily fast healer. She had truly thought that she would wake up to an empty bed, especially given that Logan did not want anyone else to realize he had stopped by the school, so she was touched that he had taken the time to wake her for a proper goodbye…and grateful for the few extra moments with him.

"I'll be back soon," he whispered, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead.

Rogue tilted her head back, her lips hovering mere millimeters away from his. She longed to close the gap and kiss him like she had in his fantasies, and she knew without a doubt that he would not stop her if she tried, but at the last second, she turned her head to the side and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. It was too soon to push things any further.

And then he took off, disappearing into the night.

But this time he had left her with more than a few bits of cold metal. Whispers of his last thoughts echoed through her head, giving her hope. Soon, I'll be back. Soon, you'll be old enough. Soon, we can be together. Soon. Soon. Soon.

Rogue knew that this time, she could not afford to be devastated by his departure. Things would have to change if she was really going to become the woman she had seen in his visions. So, she forced herself to start living life again.

She began to take part in class. She began to speak to her classmates and her teachers. And she got herself a boyfriend. After all, it would be a few years until it would be socially acceptable for her to be with Logan, and she didn't want to be completely inexperienced when that time came. She needed to grow and mature before she would be a woman worthy of standing by his side.

And, truth be told, she thought it might be kind of fun to watch Logan get jealous of a teenage boy. It would serve him right for the way he flirted with Dr. Grey.


End file.
